第79章

Then she made towards them； but，as she drew near，the soldiery dashed forward to meet her and，dismounting all，kissed the ground between her hands and said，'Aid thee Allah，O our lord the Sultan！' Then the notables and dignitaries ranged themselves before her in double line，whilst the troops ordered the people in，saying，'Allah aid thee and make thy coming a blessing to the Moslems，O Sultan of all creatures！ Allah establish thee，O King of the time and union-pearl of the day and the tide！' Asked Zumurrud，'What aileth you，O people of this city？' And the Head Chamberlain answered，'Verily，He hath given to thee who is no niggard in His giving； and He hath been bountiful to thee and hath made thee Sultan of this city and ruler over the necks of all who are therein； for know thou it is the custom of the citizens，when their King deceaseth leaving no son，that the troops should sally forth to the suburbs and sojourn there three days： and whoever cometh from the quarter whence thou hast come，him they make King over them.So praised be Allah who hath sent us of the sons of the Turks a well-favoured man； for had a lesser than thou presented himself，he had been Sultan.' Now Zumurrud was clever and well-advised in all she did： so she said，'Think not that I am of the common folk of the Turks！ nay，I am of the sons of the great，a man of condition； but I was wroth with my family，so I went forth and left them.See these saddle-bags full of gold which I have brought under me that，by the way，I might give alms thereof to the poor and the needy.' So they called down blessings upon her and rejoiced in her with exceeding joy and she also joyed in them and said in herself，'Now that I have attained to this'--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Three Hundred and Nineteenth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that quoth Zumurrud to herself，'Now that I have attained to this case，haply Allah will reunite me with my lord in this place，for He can do whatso He willeth.' Then the troops escorted her to the city and，all dismounting，walked before her to the palace.Here she alighted and the Emirs and Grandees，taking her under both armpits，[301] carried her into the palace and seated her on the throne； after which they all kissed ground before her.And when duly enthroned she bade them open the treasuries and gave largesse to all the troops，who offered up prayers for the continuance of her reign，and all the townsfolk accepted her rule and all the lieges of the realm.Thus she abode awhile bidding and forbidding，and all the people came to hold her in exceeding reverence and heartily to love her，by reason of her continence and generosity； for taxes she remitted and prisoners she released and grievances she redressed； but，as often as she bethought her of her lord，she wept and besought Allah to reunite her and him；

and one night，as she chanced to be thinking of him and calling to mind the days she had passed with him，her eyes ran over with tears and she versified in these two couplets，'My yearning for thee though long is fresh，* And the tears which chafe these eyelids increase When I weep，I weep from the burn of love，* For to lover severance is decease.'[302]

And when she had ended her verse，she wiped away her tears and repairing to the palace，betook herself to the Harim，where she appointed to the slave-girls and concubines separate lodgings and assigned them pensions and allowances，giving out that she was minded to live apart and devote herself to works of piety.So she applied herself to fasting and praying，till the Emirs said，'Verily this Sultan is eminently devout；' nor would she suffer any male attendants about her，save two little eunuchs to serve her.And on this wise she held the throne a whole year，during which time she heard no news of her lord，and failed to hit upon his traces，which was exceeding grievous to her； so，when her distress became excessive，she summoned her Wazirs and Chamberlains and bid them fetch architects and builders and make her in front of the palace a horse-course，one parasang long and the like broad.They hastened to do her bidding，and lay out the place to her liking； and，when it was completed，she went down into it and they pitched her there a great pavilion，wherein the chairs of the Emirs were ranged in due order.Moreover，she bade them spread on the racing-plain tables with all manners of rich meats and when this was done she ordered the Grandees to eat.So they ate and she said to them，'It is my will that，on seeing the new moon of each month，ye do on this wise and proclaim in the city that no man shall open his shop，but that all our lieges shall come and eat of the King's banquet，and that whoso disobeyeth shall be hanged over his own door.'[303] So they did as she bade them，and ceased not so to do till the first new moon of the second year appeared； when Zumurrud went down into the horse-course and the crier proclaimed aloud，saying，'Ho，ye lieges and people one and all，whoso openeth store or shop or house shall straight way be hanged over his own door； for it behoveth you to come in a body and eat of the King's banquet.'